The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) said it recovered 548,000 tramadol tablets when it stormed a warehouse at Nkwelle, You Local Government Area of Anambra State.

The illicit drugs were branded as “Tarkadol”, according to Femi Babafemi, the agency’s spokesman who released a statement on Sunday in Abuja.

Mr Babafemi said the drugs were seized at the warehouse of a major drug kingpin, Okeke Chijioke, of No. 3, Atunya street, Maryland Estate, Nkwelle.

The operation, on Saturday July 10, he said, was successful due to credible intelligence and surveillance, which confirmed Mr Okeke stocked his warehouse with the illicit drug.

According to Mr Babafemi, after the search of his warehouse, 548,000 tablets of Tarkadol weighing 302.500 kilograms were recovered.

“The suspect accepted ownership of the substance recovered. Preliminary investigation has established that Tarkadol is a brand of Tramadol that has just been introduced into the market to evade attention.

“The substance has also tested positive for amphetamine. The drug was equally labeled 100mg pain reliever on its packs to avoid scrutiny, while laboratory tests confirmed it’s a 225mg drug.

“It was further discovered that the drug was manufactured in India and smuggled into Nigeria without NAFDAC number or certification.

“During the search of the warehouse, a double barrel pump action gun with three live cartridges, which licence expired in 2019, was also discovered and recovered, ” he said.

Meanwhile, NDLEA operatives in Benue also intercepted 28,000 capsules of tramadol while on road patrol in Apir village on July 14.

The drugs were said to belong to Dankawu Madaki, who hails from Misah LGA, Bauchi State.

In a related development, a notorious interstate drug dealer, Godiya Linus, based in Taraba who supplied narcotics to dealers in Adamawa had been arrested in the Numan area of the state.

Mr Babafemi said Mr Godiya, an ex-convict, was in jail between 2012 and 2018 following his conviction on drug related charges.

He said a drug dealer, Mohammed Ali, had earlier been arrested on July 10 with 1.150kg of diazepam in Numan.

“A follow up operation led to the arrest of Godiya who supplied Ali, while investigation has since revealed that he is based in Mayolope village in Lau local government area of Taraba.

“This was where he supplied Jambutu park in Yola and other parts of Numan, using an unregistered boxer motorcycle for distribution.

“Few days after Godiya’s arrest, another dealer, Emmanuel Ishiwu, was nabbed with different quantities of tramadol, exol-5 and diazepam, totalling 6.103kg also in Numan on 14th July.

“This also was followed by the arrest of Muhammadu Garba and Shaibu Haruna with 48.500kg of cannabis in the Gurin area of the state on Friday, 16th July 2021,” he said.